Two bills were passed by the Virginia General Assembly this session that would give localities statewide access to more comprehensive laws regarding what happens to trees on land zoned for development. Gov. Glenn Youngkin must make a final decision on the fate of the measures by March 24.
All localities statewide were given the ability to adopt optional tree ordinances when a section was added to the code in 2022. This session, legislators worked to give the entire state access to slightly more robust, but still optional, regulations, in a style similar to those currently limited to certain localities.
How Virginia tree ordinances could be expanded
The current law allows only some localities within planning district eight in Northern Virginia to adopt slightly higher tree canopy replacement percentages after a piece of land is developed compared to the rest of the state. Tree canopy replacement requires that a certain percentage of each lot must contain trees 20 years after it is developed or redeveloped.
These select few localities can also create what’s called a “tree canopy fund” to collect and disburse fees from developers who cannot meet the tree canopy requirements of the ordinance.
“I think that a good thing here is we’re not making up something from scratch,” said Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, chief patron of the bill that would allow localities statewide to establish a tree canopy fund. “The funds have been successful in that limited area.”
In Arlington and Fairfax Counties, fees that are collected from developers who cannot meet the tree canopy requirements are placed into designated tree canopy funds. The counties are then able use that money to plant and maintain trees or donate to nonprofits that plant trees.
“It’s sort of a win-win,” said Ann Jurczyk, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia manager of urban restoration. “The development community likes it because it does give them more flexibility.”
Instead of having their hands tied when tree replacement requirements on a site cannot be met, developers can pay into the tree fund as an alternative.
The fund also provides localities “a way to get more trees into the ground,” Jurczyk said.
Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, chief patron of the bill to increase tree canopy replacement percentages available to localities statewide, said his bill was also written with Northern Virginia in mind as a template for the rest of the state.
“You know what’s good for Arlington is good for everyone, and we do have a very high bar because we do love our trees in my locality,” Hope said. “Other localities love their trees too, and this will give them an extra tool to make sure that we can preserve our trees for the long term across the whole commonwealth.”
Hope emphasized that the tree ordinance would be entirely optional for localites and clarified that the bill “may not work for everybody, but in those localities that this is a really important thing to do, then you know I don’t see how the opposition could argue with everyone coming together to adopt this.”
Youngkin vetoed an identical bill from Hope last session despite the bill’s consensus support from land developers and environmental advocates alike.
“Maybe [Youngkin] didn’t quite understand that this bill is fully supported by all stakeholders,” said Hope.
Tree canopy conservation concerns
Representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as well as lobbyists for the Home Builders Association of Virginia and the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate all stood up to voice their support for Hope’s bill during a Senate Committee meeting this session.
According to Jurczyk, the fact the developers stood up to support the bill demonstrates how “watered down” it is.
Jurczyk voiced her concerns about what she called the “poison pill” that’s written into Virginia’s tree ordinances.
“No locality can ask for additional canopy than written in the code, and we’ve fought against that pretty much every year,” said Jurczyk.
For example, Hope’s bill would boost the maximum tree canopy that a locality can require to be conserved from 20% to 30% for certain residential sites zoned for development. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation would like that percentage to be the minimum that a locality can choose to require under the ordinance, not the maximum.
This image was published in a Chesapeake Bay Foundation fact sheet to “illustrate how landscapes change when localities don’t adopt tree replacement ordinances or have the flexibility to replace trees.” (Photo courtesy Google Earth Timelapse and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation)
Setting a maximum tree canopy that localities can choose to require clashes head on with tree canopy goals being agreed to in parts of the state, said Jurczyk.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which includes localities in northern Virginia, set a goal to maintain a minimum tree canopy coverage of 50% across the metropolitan Washington region.
Jurczyk wonders how a 50% goal can be met if localities are allowed to “remove acres upon acres of canopy” and “not replace it on a one-to-one basis or better.”
Hope said he would have liked the bill to be “a little bit stronger,” but added that “part of the deal is that when you work together with people you don’t always get what you want but you certainly do move the ball forward, and I think this is a good compromise where we landed, and I hope the governor signs it.”
Hope also urged developers “to please contact the governor’s office to make very clear to him that this is a really good proposal, and it’s a compromise piece which they’re very happy with.”
Andrew Clark, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Home Builders Association of Virginia, said he has not had any conversations with the governor’s office regarding the bill.
“Continuing to add to these statutes will, I think, create some administrative challenges for localities,” said Clark, adding that other states have written tree laws with “more streamlined, consolidated, almost user friendly approaches that create some predictability.”
“Virginia has really complex tree statutes, like really complex, and often it’s localities that are then adopting the ordinances and those ordinances are complex,” said Sarah Thomas, a contract lobbyist for the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate. “So Virginia is definitely a special place when it comes to tree law.”
“There probably is a simpler way to achieve the goal of preserving existing trees where possible and if not possible, mitigate the loss with the end goal of no net loss,” Jurczyk said.
Tree root zones survey bill axed
Del. Marty Martinez, D-Loudoun, was chief patron of a third local-option tree bill that would have required developers to survey for the critical root zones of existing trees on sites and submit their findings to the locality.
The Virginia Department of Forestry defines the critical root zone of a tree as the area encompassing all of the roots extending to the dripline of the tree, or the overall circumference of its canopy.
The bill failed in the Senate Agriculture Conservation and Natural Resources committee this session.
Clark and Thomas both stood up to oppose the bill during the Senate Committee meeting, their main reason being that the surveys would be too costly and time-consuming for developers.
Sen. Richard Stuart went a step further and said the bill makes it impossible to get affordable housing in Virginia, which is his “biggest priority.”
The Committee included a letter with their rejection of the bill requiring the stakeholders to get together and “try to hammer out something that’s going to be protective of the critical root zone,” said Jurczyk. “So we’ll come back next year with something we hope everybody can live with.”
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www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-19 06:29:35
SUMMARY: This Saturday morning brings a beautiful weekend, especially for Easter celebrations, with highs in the upper 80s. Southwest breezes, gusting to 25 miles per hour, push temperatures well above average, starting in the upper 50s to middle 60s. Expect mostly sunny skies and warm conditions, ideal for beach outings, despite chilly water temperatures. Easter Sunday will start mild, but a backdoor cold front will cause temperatures to drop in the afternoon with increasing cloud cover and potential rain. Multiple rounds of rain are forecasted for the upcoming week, with temperatures returning to seasonal averages by the latter part of the week.
Despite a front dropping through the area Sunday, it will be a nice weekend in Hampton Roads.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 11:38:00
(The Center Square) – Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earles-Sears accuses her Democratic opponent for governor, Abigail Spanberger of hiding a trust; Spanberger says it only holds her home—and ethics experts say she may not have needed to report it.
The Dispute centers on a home Spanberger and her husband placed in a trust in 2017, which her campaign says produced no income and was legally exempt from disclosure.
With both women vying to become Virginia’s first female governor, the accusation has quickly turned into a fight over ethics, transparency and what voters expect from their candidates.
“Members of Congress do not need to report assets from a non-income producing trust where they are an administrator that does not receive income or have any beneficial interest in the trust,” said Delaney Marsco, ethics director at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.
“Personal residences that do not earn income are not required to be disclosed,” a campaign spokesperson said, “so Abigail did not disclose her family’s only home—as doing so would make their home address publicly available.”
They added that when the home was placed in a trust, “Abigail filed her disclosures in accordance with House ethics rules, which do not require her to disclose her role as a trustee of a living trust holding only her family’s home.”
Earle-Sears has publicly slammed Spanberger on social media, accusing her of “dodging tough questions” and “hiding a $900,000 trust fund.”
“She’s a typical politician,” Earle-Sears wrote in apost on X, questioning whether Virginians can trust Spanberger if she’s “willing to lie about this.”
The Earle-Sears campaign did not respond to a request for comment beyond public posts.
The accusation signals an early campaign strategy from Earle-Sears, who has so far leaned into sharp, combative messaging to define Spanberger as the race for the governor’s mansion heats up.
Under House ethics rules, members of Congressare not requiredto disclose personal residences or non-income-producing assets held in a trust as long as they receive no financial benefit. They must report liabilities such as mortgages and disclose trustee roles only if the position involves an organization or generates income.
Virginia requires statewide candidates to file a Statement of Economic Interests, but similar to federal rules, personal residencesare typically exemptif they don’t produce income. The state form focuses on business ties, investments and income sources—leaving out non-commercial trusts like the one Spanberger’s team says holds her home.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-18 06:11:37
SUMMARY: The weather forecast for the upcoming days shows temperatures above average, with highs reaching 79°F today and possibly 86°F tomorrow. Sunday will remain warm with temperatures in the upper 70s, but a backdoor front may cause a slight afternoon cool down. Easter Sunday will see dry conditions in the morning but potential severe storms in the Midwest. Monday will be mild, but showers and storms are expected Tuesday through Thursday. By Friday, conditions should improve, with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s as the week ends. Skies will be mostly clear today, with light winds from the south.
